Newport man foils conman claiming to be from 'fraud squad'
A conman claiming to be from the "fraud squad" tried to get a Newport man to withdraw thousands of pounds from his bank account.
The scammer claimed it was so that he could catch a criminal, police have revealed.
The conman said he had just disrupted a scam in which unknown people had been trying to fraudulently obtain £3,000.
He asked his victim to withdraw the same amount from the bank in a bid to catch those responsible.
Instead, the victim immediately reported the call to the police and refused to hand over any money.
Police said it happened at about 1.15pm on Tuesday.
Residents in Newport have been warned to be on their guard after the phone call.
Inspector Tracy Ryan said: "Thankfully on this occasion the gentleman was not fooled and called police, who are now investigating.
"We would like to remind the public that police would never ask you to withdraw cash from your account in these circumstances or disclose any banking or personal details over the telephone.
"We encourage people to report any suspicious activity to us by calling 101 or 999 if a crime is taking place."
